The legislation adds a new paragraph to section 1353 of the German Civil Code that will state: “a marriage is entered into by two people of a different or the same sex for life.” (German Civil Code, Jan. 2, 2002, as amended, § 1353, BUNDESGESETZBLATT [BGBl.] [FEDERAL LAW GAZETTE] I at 42, 2909; corrected at 2003 BGBl. I at 738, GERMAN LAWS ONLINE.) Same-sex couples that are currently in a registered life partnership may convert their life partnership into a marriage. No new life partnerships may be registered after the amendment of the Civil Code enters into force. (Draft Act, art. 2.)

The Bundesrat, the constitutional body through which the German states participate in the legislative process, will debate the amendment in its session on July 7, 2017. Approval by the Bundesrat is very likely, as the initiative for the amendment of the law originated there. (Bundesrat, Nachtrag zur Tagesordnung der 959. Sitzung des Bundesrates am Freitag, dem 7. Juli 2017, 9.30 Uhr [Addition to the Agenda of the 959th Session of the Bundesrat on Friday, July 7, 2017, 9:30 a.m.] (June 30, 2017), at 3, Bundesrat website.) The act will enter into force once the Federal President has signed it and it is published in the Federal Law Gazette. (Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Basic Law) (May 23, 1949), BGBl. I at 1, as amended, art. 82, GERMAN LAWS ONLINE (unofficial English translation).)